Manufacture of staple fiber



4, 1945. JACKSON 2,384,032

- MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE FIBER Filed April 6, 1942 Armmmm Batented Septrl4, 1945 2,384,032 MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE man Arthur L. Jackson, West Asheville, N.

0., asslgnor to American Enka Corporation, Enka, N. 0., a

corporation of Delaware Application April 6, 1942, Serial No. 437,899 1 Claim. ((21. 19- 1) This invention relates to the manufacture of staple fiber, and more particularly to the aftertreatment of staple fibers cut from freshly spun, continuous rayon filaments.

In the manufacture of viscose rayon staple fibers, a cellulosic solution is first extruded through a spinneret int a coagulating bath to form a thread; a number of such threads are then combined into a rope or band and conveyed to a machine for severing the band into short lengths. The fibers are then subjected to the customary after-treating operations such as washing, desulfurizing, bleaching, etc. by well known methods, and are subsequently dried. A serious disadvantage inherent in such a procedure has been the tendency of the fine individual fibers, when out, to form compact bunches which were difilcult to open and to separate into the individual fibers. Furthermore, the fiber bunches failed to open during the aftertreating operations, and as a result the component fibers had no opportunity to shrink properly, so that the final dried product lacked the resilience-and curl necessary to impart a Wooly appearance and feel to the staple fibers and fabrics made therefrom. It has now been-found that if the fiber bunches are opened up immediately after cutting, they will be able to shrink individually and their resilience and vcurliness will be materially enhanced.

The problem of opening fiber bunches is an old one in the staple fiber industry and various ,methods have'been proposed for its solution. One method, described in U. S. Patent No. 1,627,037, relates to the loosening of bunches of cotton or rayon fibers by mixing them with soap suds and causing them to drop vertically through an extended path against a succession of bailies interposed in the path of the fibers. While this method may be of value in opening cotton and like staples, it has been regarded as impractical for opening bunches of staple fibers made from rayon, particularly freshly cut rayon fibers which are still acid-moist from the coagulating bath, inasmuch as the necessary apparatus required considerable space, and there was danger of injury to the delicate rayon filaments in striking the battles. Furthermore, the tendency of the fibers to stick to and accumulate on the baiiles would necessitate frequent access to and cleaning of the baiiies, with the consequent stoppage of the process and added labor costs.

It has also been proposed to drop the fibers as they come from the cutter into a stationary tank containing water or other liquid, and to mechanically mix the mass in order to break up the fiber bunches. However, the mechanical difficulties attendant upon the mixing operation and the subsequent removal of the fine, filamentous fibers after immersion were great, and experiments involving the employment of such a method and apparatus have been notably unsuccessful. For example, it was very difllcult to remove the fibers from the liquid by means of ladies or the like, and any attempts to drain the liquid from thetanks resulted in clogged drains.

The present invention overcomes the aforementioned difilculties and broadly contemplates the provision of a rotary member divided into a.

'number of compartments, positioned adjacent the discharge outlet of a. staple fiber cutting machine. As the rotary member turns, the cut staples which are caught in the compartments travel through an arcuate path and are sprayed at intervals with a liquid, for example, water. Water accumulates in the compartments, forms a liquid vehicle for the fibers and is agitated by th movement of the rotary member. Thus, while the spray directed against the fibers in the compartments opens the fiber bunches and permits free shrinkage of the individual fibers, the agitation of th liquid as the rotary member turns keeps the fibers separated throughout an extended path. Upon continued rotation of the rotary member the .fibers suspended in their liquid vehicle are discharged and are accumulated in a tray for further treatment.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is the provision" of a simple and efiicient method and apparatus for opening staple fiber bunches.

Another object is the provision of means for continuously receiving and opening staple fiber bunches as they are out, so that ample opportunity is provided for shrinkage and curling of the individual fibers.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a system embodying the elements ofthe invention,

Figure 2 is a'perspective view of the rotary member, and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the rotary member showing the means by which it is driven.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral l desig nates a rope or band of" continuous rayon threads. The band of threads is passed between into the next compartment.

a pair of rollers 2 which serve to guide the thread into a staple cutting machine 3, and the bundles in the form of a wheel 5, mounted for rotation upon a shaft 6, one end of which is joumalled in a bearing 1 affixed to astandard 8. The other end of shaft 6'is provided with a gear wheel 9, and is supported in a bearing l aflixed to standard ll. Gear 9 meshes with a gear l2 aflixed to shaft l3 of motor I4. The speed of the motor and the size of gears 9 and I2 may be adjusted to drive the wheel 5 at any desired speed. The speed at which the wheel is rotated is, of course, dependent upon factors such as the'size of the wheel and the rate at which the fibers are delivered thereto, as well as to the length of time it'is desired that the fibers remain on the wheel, and where continuous rayon filaments are out shortly after being spun, the peripheral speed of the wheel may be made to conform to the spinning speed. For example, where viscose rayon filaments are spun ata rate in the neighborhood of 60 to 100 meters per minute, it has been found advantageous to drive the wheel 5 at a speed of approximately one revolution per minute.

Wheel 5 comprises an annular member supported by cross pieces l6 afiixed to sleeve II which in turn is mounted for rotation with shaft 6. Affixed to opposite sidesof member I5 and projecting radially outward therefrom are annular plates l8 connected at spaced points by radial baflies I9 to form a series of compartments 20. wheel. 5 is caused to rotate in a clockwise.

direction, as indicated by the arrows. As the wheel turns, the cut sta'ples, designated generally by the numeral 2|, which sticktogether in compact bunches due in part to the moisture content retained from the coagulating bath and in part to the pressure exerted by the cutting mechanism, drop from chute 4 into the compartments 20. As the cut fibers are carried along by the rotation of the wheel the successive compartments into which they are received from the chute 4 pass below a spray nozzle 22 which directs a spray of liquid such as water or acid onto the bunches of staple fibers in the compartments. The fluid spray directed into successive compartments strikes the staple fibers therein, and due to the action of the spray the fiber bunches are broken up and separated into their components. Each compartment is sealed against leakage and the fluid is retained thereby, forming a liquid vehicle which floats the fibers. The movement of the wheel agitates the liquid and assists in maintaining the fibers separated. If desired, nozzle 22 may be placed above the chute. 4, in which case its spray may be directed tangentially against the bottom of the chute to assist in discharging the fibers into the compartments of the wheel, while at the same time breaking up the compact fiber bunches. In order to prevent overflow of liquid from the compartments laterally of the wheel, baifles l9 are indented at 23 'so that, if the accumulation of liquid in a compartment is too great to be retained therein, it will not overflow the wheel but will spill over At a point near the periphery of the wheel 5, spaced from nozzle 22, another spray nozzle 24 directs a fluid against the fibers floating in their liquid vehicle. Preferably nozzle 24 sprays fluid into the wheel compartments at a point in the rotation of the wheel where the fluid in the compartments begins to spill therefrom by gravity.

In this way the fluid spray assists in discharging the fibers from the wheel, and any fiber bunches which have not been opened up by the s ray from nozzle 22 or the movement of the liquid vehicle, are subjected to the action of another spray which completes the separation of the fibers from each other.

Liquid flowing from nozzles 22 and 24 is supplied from pipes 25 and 26 which are connected to a common conduit 21 leading to a circulating pump 28. The flow of liquid into conduit 21 may be regulated by valve 29 and the flow from pipes 25 and 26 may be regulated respectively by valves 30 and 3|.

As the wheel turns the fibers are discharged into a tray 32 having a perforated or screened bottom through which the liquid drains into a collecting pan 33 situated therebelow. If desired, a funnel 34 may be employed adjacent the wheel to guide the discharged fibers into the tray. The collecting pan may be provided with a number of rollers 35 upon which the tray rests to facilitate removal and replacement of the tray. Fluid collected in pan 33 is drawn out through pipe 36 and recirculated by pump 28. by the fibers is replenished through a pipe 31 froma source of supply, not shown, and the fiow continuous viscose rayorfilaments, the invention is likewise applicable to the opening and treatment of other natural or artificial fibers, such as cotton. and the like. When the invention is applied to the treatment of freshly spun, freshly cut rayonfibers the individual fibers are given ample opportunity to shrink and the resilience and curliness of the final product are greatly improved.

If desired, of course, several treating wheels of the general character of the one herein described, may be employed in series in order to effect continuous after-treatment of the fibers. In such case the fibers discharged from one wheel are received in the compartments of the succeeding wheel, which may be rotated at a speed consistent with the length of time the fibers are to be subjected to the particular treatment to be applied.

The number of wheels employed in a series debodiment of the present invention,and variations and modifications in the method and apparatus employed maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the invention should be-limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An apparatus for converting continuous filaments into staple fibers comprising a source of continuous filaments, a staple cutter arranged in the path of said filaments, an outlet for dischargingthe cut fibers, means for receiving the cut fibers as they are discharged, a vertically arranged rotary wheel member positioned above the fiber receiving means and consisting of a Fluid absorbed series of radial compartments for initially rethe point where the liquid'and flbersnormallyceiving and holding said cut fibers, means for commence to discharge from the respective com delivering the cut fibers into successive compartpartments whereby the fibers in one compartments at one side of the wheel member whereby, ment are caused tobe initially discharged by the when the wheel member is rotated, the compart- 5 second spray while the residual fibers in the sucments are elevated, means for spraying a liquid ceeding forward compartment are being disinto the compartments during their elevated path chargedso that a substantially lmitorm discharge of travel in order to open and separate the fibers of fibers is effected continuously.

and a second liquid spray means positioned above w ARTHUR L. JACKSON. 

